NewsBrief (September 29, 2014)

Message from the President

More than 24,000 subscribers rely on NAREIT’s free, daily executive news summary, Real Estate Investment SmartBrief, to help them stay on top of the latest developments impacting their businesses and overall real estate investment landscape.

Recently, we’ve examined the stories featured in the brief, enhanced our section headers and improved the timeliness of our delivery. These updates are meant to provide more complete coverage of the industry, including:

• Real Estate Marketplace: Looking at key real estate-related news from around the globe.


• Investment News: Focusing on stocks and bonds, pension funds and the world’s financial markets.


• Policy & the Economy: Highlighting broader regulatory and economic issues impacting the world of real estate investment.


• REIT.com Resources: Daily links to key resources available on NAREIT’s website.

We hope you find these changes meet your information needs and not only help you understand the broader industry and macroeconomic environment better, but also bring to your attention important information related to your business.

We encourage you to share the brief with your colleagues and friends and recommend that they also subscribe.

Please contact us if you have any comments or suggestions, and thank you for continuing to subscribe to Real Estate Investment SmartBrief.







Steven A. Wechsler
President and CEO

 

Record Attendance at 2014 SFO Workshop

Nearly 200 real estate industry financial officers gathered in Boston last week for NAREIT’s 2014 SFO Workshop. The attendance figure set a record for the event’s 20-year history.

This year’s program included roundtable discussions focused on investor relations, Mortgage REITs and a wide range of accounting and finance matters. Program directors Ixchell Duarte, senior vice president and chief administrative office at CNL Healthcare Properties, Inc., and Robert Meyer, senior vice president for finance and corporate controller with American Tower Corp. (NYSE: AMT), provided important insight in developing the program.




2014 SFO Workshop: Michael Berman, executive vice president and CFO of General Growth Properties (NYSE: GGP), led a discussion on the current capital markets and financing structures. Panelists included representatives from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Stifel Nicolaus. This capital market update continues to be a highlight of the annual SFO Workshop.




2014 SFO Workshop: In addition to the capital markets update, Michael Acton, managing director and director of research at AEW Capital Management, provided a discussion of the macroeconomic environment. It included a look into future technological advances that will influence how companies operate.

Sessions at the event also covered proposed auditing standards being considered by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and the recently issued international standard focused on revenue recognition.

(Contact: George Yungmann at gyungmann@nareit.com)

HR Forum Continues to Grow

NAREIT hosted its eighth-annual HR Forum on Sept. 22 and 23 in Boston. More than 60 NAREIT Corporate Member senior HR professionals representing more than 50 REITs and REOCs attended this year’s event, almost double the attendance from a mere two years ago.

The agenda included well-known speakers on topics such as developing high potential talent in REITs; succession planning; assessing leadership potential and readiness; and associate engagement. In addition, Michael Glimcher, chairman and CEO of Glimcher Realty Trust (NYSE: GRT), discussed how Glimcher’s culture and leadership have made a difference both internally and externally in terms of company performance. In addition to these general sessions, the HR Forum included roundtable discussions on social media, HR metrics and workforce analytics, and diversity and inclusion.

NAREIT would like to thank this year’s HR Forum sponsors: Korn Ferry, FPL Advisory Group and Terra Search Partners.

(Contact: Bonnie Gottlieb at bgottlieb@nareit.com)

PCAOB Seeks Input on Auditing Estimates and Fair Value Measurements Staff Consultation Paper

Earlier this year, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) issued Staff Consultation Paper Auditing Estimates and Fair Value Measurements to solicit stakeholder input on whether the board should revise existing audit guidance on accounting estimates and fair value measurements.

The paper cites the use of specialists and third party pricing services as areas where additional audit requirements could be added. It could impact NAREIT member companies based on the initial measurement of typical transactions at fair value, such as acquisitions of real estate, and subsequent measurement, such as fair value measurement of debt and equity securities.

CLICK HERE for further information on the consultation paper.

If you are interested in participating on a NAREIT task force that will evaluate the staff consultation paper and consider whether NAREIT should develop a response, contact Christopher Drula by Oct. 3. Comments are due to the PCAOB by Nov. 3.

(Contact: Christopher Drula at cdrula@nareit.com)

Report from EPRA Annual Conference in London

Meredith Despins, NAREIT vice president of investment affairs and investor education, last week participated in the European Public Real Estate Association’s (EPRA) Annual Conference in London.

The conference was attended by 350 property executives, analysts and investment bankers from Europe and around the world. Attendees included representatives from a number of NAREIT member organizations.

The overall sentiment among the attendees was positive. Philip Charls, EPRA’s CEO, helped set the tone in his opening remarks by citing the sector’s solid performance and industry growth as evidenced by recent IPO activity and increased investment allocations to REITs and listed property companies by large institutional investors.

The pan-European economic outlook was the focus of several discussions. The likelihood of Europe moving towards a deflationary environment and the impact of deflation on commercial real estate across the Eurozone was one subject of debate.

Debra Cafaro, chairman and CEO of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE: VTR) and a past NAREIT Chair, was interviewed during a luncheon presentation at the conference on topics including the outlook for the United States’ economy, how U.S. REITs are positioned to grow and preserve shareholder value, and ways in which the European listed property sector can continue to grow.

(Contact: Meredith Despins at mdespins@nareit.com)

Nominations for Leadership Awards Now Open

NAREIT is seeking nominations for its Leadership Awards. The REIT Industry Leadership Award, presented in memory of former Boston Properties (NYSE: BXP) CEO Edward H. Linde, is presented traditionally to a REIT executive. The REIT Industry Achievement Award is presented to an individual member in memory of E. Lawrence Miller, the former CEO of Bradley Real Estate Trust. A list of previous award recipients is available on REIT.com.

Guidelines for consideration of candidates for both awards are the following:

• Individuals should have a distinguished reputation within the business community at large;


• Individuals should have length and depth of service, both in the REIT and publicly traded real estate industry and as members of NAREIT;


• Individuals should be actively involved in community service;


• Individuals should have written and/or spoken on key industry issues; and


• Individuals should have contributed to increasing understanding of REITs and publicly traded real estate by the public.

Both awards will be presented to the recipients during REITWorld 2014: NAREIT’s Annual Convention for All Things REIT® to be held Nov. 5-7 in Atlanta.

Please forward the names of awards candidates with supporting information for consideration via mail to NAREIT, Attention: Megan Peichel, 1875 I Street, NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC, 20006-5413; via fax at (202) 739-9401; or via email to mpeichel@nareit.com.

The deadline for receipt of nominations is Thursday, Oct. 9.

(Contact: Megan Peichel at mpeichel@nareit.com)

 

Latest Issue of REIT Magazine Now Available

The latest issue of REIT: Real Estate Investment Today magazine is now available in print and online. This issue’s cover story is a one-on-one interview with Owen Thomas, CEO of Boston Properties. Thomas discusses how he preserves the company’s long-standing reputation while setting the future course for continued growth.

Also in this issue, leading global real estate fund managers share their insights on key market trends, where they see the best investment opportunities and their outlook for REITs across the world. “Fibras Get their Footing” details the rise of REITs in Mexico and expectations for where the sector is headed. Peter Verwer, the new head of the Asia Pacific Real Estate Association (APREA), talks about the biggest challenges and opportunities in the Asian real estate market.

Jamie Woodwell of the Mortgage Bankers Association discusses commercial and multifamily financing issues. David Auerbach of Esposito Securities shares his REIT insights from the Street.

In addition, the issue profiles the latest developments at tower REIT Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE: CCI) and Canadian apartment REIT Boardwalk REIT (TSX: BEI:UN).

(Contact: Matt Bechard at mbechard@nareit.com)

NAREIT’s Case Addresses Brandes Institute Advisory Board Conference

<img data-cke-saved-src="/sites/default/files/htmlemail/CaseNB.jpg" src="/sites/default/files/htmlemail/CaseNB.jpg" jpg"="" align="left" border="0" hspace="4" vspace="0">Brad Case, NAREIT senior vice president for research and industry information, was the featured speaker for a Web conference of the Advisory Board of the Brandes Institute, an organization whose primary goal is “to develop ideas and research that expand the investment community’s understanding of market behavior and portfolio management.”

Case discussed the differences in business models between liquid and illiquid investments, including listed REITs and private real estate, and how those differences help explain variations in performance and diversification benefits.

(Contact: Brad Case at bcase@nareit.com)

NAREIT Welcomes New Corporate Member

NAREIT is pleased to welcome CBS Outdoor Americas, Inc. (NYSE: CBSO) as its newest Corporate Member. CBS Outdoor Americas leases advertising space on traditional billboards, transit outdoor advertising properties and a network of digital displays throughout North America, Mexico and South America. Based in New York, Jeremy Male is CEO of the company.

(Contact: Bonnie Gottlieb at bgottlieb@nareit.com)

REITs in the Community

Sept. 25: Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), center, visited the Spokane offices of Potlatch Corp. (NASDAQ: PCH) and met with Potlach CEO and Chairman Michael Covey (left) and Mark Benson, the company’s vice president for public affairs. McMorris Rodgers, who chairs the House Republican Conference Committee and is the fourth-ranking GOP member in the House of Representatives, was briefed on recent developments involving Potlatch's activities across the country and timber REITs in general. In addition, the discussion covered several legislative issues that are pertinent to the REIT industry, including extension of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), passage of the Marketplace Fairness Act, FIRPTA reform and the prospects for comprehensive tax reform next year.

Sept. 25: Rep. John Carney (D-DE), left, visited Tanger Outlets in Rehoboth Beach, Del. Carney toured the property, met with several store managers and greeted constituents. The general manager of the Tanger Factory Outlet Centers (NYSE: SKT) property, Amy Norgate, right, briefed Carney on the economic impact of the property and described the renovation currently underway. Norgate also gave Carney an overview of Tanger's operations as a REIT and thanked him for his support of efforts to extend Terrorism Risk Insurance Act.

(Contact: Jessica Davis at jdavis@nareit.com)